I recently bought an HD recorder that recorded in a .ets file (that I later found to be an encrypted .ts file.) I want to convert it to .avi or even just .mpg but every program I've tried (Toast, Handbrake, avidemux) have failed. Is there any way I can decrypt this .ts file into something that I can edit as another format?

I also have to say that the .ets file will not play in any other software aside from the one that was provided by the manufacturer.

It's a Japanese release only by a company called Pixela? It's their Capty TV Hi-Vision recorder. All the Japanese forums I searched had said that it's impossible. The file is in an .mrec file format but I checked the .plist file and it told me that it's actually an encrypted .ts file hidden in the package.

It has to be decoded properly (i.e visible) in order for software to encode it to your final format

The only other thing I can think of is if the software provided installs on a PC, it may include codecs or filters that you can access though graphedit/graphstudio. You might be able to create a graph and encode that way. If they are locked, then you cannot

Or if you're desperate, maybe you can screen capture as it's playing with the provided software

Thank you so much for all your replies. But I think I've stumbled upon a way to convert it to a usable format. If it doesn't work, then I shall try some of the other suggestions, but thanks again anyway.

Japan has some particularly harsh regulations apparently on what can and cannot be recorded and whether such recordings can be copied, so this doesn't surprise me.

All the HD recorders for Macs (available in Japan) can't be converted to another format and the ones available for PCs are also getting more restricted with each successive release. The Japanese tech forums I've read don't even know that it's an encrypted .ts file yet... because it's hidden in the file package. And the HD recorder I bought from America couldn't pick up Japanese digital signals, so I'm feeling kind of helpless/desperate.

Avidemux2 recognizes that it's a video file, but it can't open it because of encryption reasons.

Japan has some particularly harsh regulations apparently on what can and cannot be recorded and whether such recordings can be copied, so this doesn't surprise me.

All the HD recorders for Macs (available in Japan) can't be converted to another format and the ones available for PCs are also getting more restricted with each successive release. The Japanese tech forums I've read don't even know that it's an encrypted .ts file yet... because it's hidden in the file package. And the HD recorder I bought from America couldn't pick up Japanese digital signals, so I'm feeling kind of helpless/desperate.

Avidemux2 recognizes that it's a video file, but it can't open it because of encryption reasons.

Japan uses a format known as ISDB for digital TV. North America uses ATSC. I'm not surprised that an HD recorder from America can't record Japanese ISDB signals.

Since the file is encoded in a .ets file, and after a little bit more research on Japanese sites, I found that Sony's Memory Stick Player and PS3 can play such a file? It's not really a solution, as I still don't really know how to convert it to avi or any other format yet. But if someone would like to share a way (maybe point me to tutorials about how to write custom codecs) then maybe it'd be an actual solution to my problem. This all boils down to copyright problems anyway.